A tale of heroism in the fight against Illinois corruption

Who among us would have thought of the little east central Illinois town of
Paris as a major location for drug dealing and criminal activity? It is hard to
believe Paris, Ill., is the site of the national Mafia Pizza Connection Case,
in which Rudy Giuliani prosecuted Paris resident Joe Vitale and others. Paris
is a place where numerous unsolved murders and suspicious arsons seem to be
commonplace.

Yet Paris is where the story begins that leads former Illinois State Police
(ISP) investigator Michale Callahan to write his book, “Since When is Murder Too Politically Sensitive?” The opening scene is the 1986 murder of Dyke and Karen Rhoads in the middle of
the night in their Paris house. The police eventually focus on local men Randy
Steidl and Herbert Whitlock. Both are convicted in 1987 primarily on the
testimony of an individual known as the “town drunk” and a woman known to be “a schizophrenic, alcoholic, drug addict.” Steidl’s death penalty sentence results in his case gaining the greatest publicity, and
over the next 20 years it becomes one of Illinois’ most noteworthy wrongful convictions.

Little did an ISP commander of investigations, Michale Callahan, know that the
results of the Steidl/Whitlock convictions would shape his entire career as he
looked at their cases. He became convinced after an examination of the
convictions and accompanying evidence that the case was badly flawed, that the
convictions were unwarranted, and the investigation of other prominent suspects
was necessary to yield justice. Much of his assessment was based on information
generated by Bill Clutter, a private investigator and director of
investigations for the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project. Callahan
approached his ISP superiors and requested that he be allowed to reopen the
investigation, but was told that to do so was “too politically sensitive.” Thus arose the title of the book he will unveil on Monday, May 18, at a
reception of the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project.

In language sometimes reflecting his anger and angst, Callahan writes about the
retaliation against him for wanting to reopen the investigation and the
psychological and social pain that he and his family endured in the aftermath.
While the Steidl case is a central event, it is Callahan’s narrative of retribution and corruption that drives the detailed story in the
book. Recounting the corruption that he first encounters by the Paris police,
state’s attorney, and local judges, Callahan describes a system of power and money
that shape judgments in the approach to crime and punishment. Callahan
describes the Illinois State Police command as having become politicized under
George Ryan, with the ISP director and other high-level officers tied to
recently indicted power broker Bill Cellini. He alleges that corruption
continued with Ryan, whose decision not to pardon Steidl and Whitlock in 2003,
Callahan contends, was based on influence by ISP resistance and monetary
contributions made to Ryan led by a prominent Paris businessman, the state’s attorney and even the judge in the Steidl case.

Callahan’s story remains without an ending at this point. He was driven out of the ISP
for pressing the reinvestigation. He is fighting to change that and won a court
judgment that the ISP violated his rights. Yet, in 2008 that decision was
overturned by the Federal Court of Appeals. He is presently appealing that
decision to the United States Supreme Court.

We are used to hearing about criminal cases gone awry, occasional police
misconduct, or mistakes by lawyers. What sets this story apart is the
corruption running from the local community to the highest levels of state
government. The book is compelling because few law enforcement officers are
willing to suffer the consequences of telling the whole story, including little
known interactions within the police bureaucracy. Callahan is one of those rare
individuals who is fighting the corruption, who is going public in his attempt
to remedy the problem, and who is continuing to bear the social, economic and
personal consequences of the courage of his convictions.

Larry Golden is an Emeritus Professor of Political Studies and Legal Studies at
the University of Illinois at Springfield. He is also a director of the
Downstate Illinois Innocence Project and participated in the exoneration of
Herbert Whitlock. He can be reached at lgold1@uis.edu.

Michale Callahan will be selling and signing his book for the first time at a
reception held by the Downstate Illinois Innocence Project on Monday, May 18,
at the Governor’s Mansion between 5-7 p.m. Reservations may be made by calling 206-7989.